All I Wanted
by ashlupinn
Summary: (Remus/OC) Jasey Mathews returns to Hogwarts for her 6th year. Once school begins again, she finds herself drawn to her returning DADA teacher, Professor Lupin, and she realizes she may have formed more than just a schoolgirl crush, even if she knows it's wrong...but with his strange behavior, does he feel the same way, or will he push her away? Some Ron/Hermione, &other, slight AU
1. A Parting Glance

**FOR SOME REASON I HAD TO REPOST THIS? I changed some things but they wouldn't change on the actual document for some reason, I guess I don't know how to use this website yet..**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: So I know this chapter is a bit boring, but I just wanted an introductory chapter before anything really happens, it will get less boring, I promise! Please R&amp;R! :)<strong>

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><p>Chapter 1: A Parting Glance<p>

She held her breath as she ran through the barrier to platform nine and three quarters, just as she had every year. She opened her eyes after a moment and found herself in a completely different setting from the muggle train station. Students- her classmates roamed about, saying goodbyes to their families and meeting up with their friends. She took a deep breath and searched the pulsing crowd for any of her friends. After a few anxious minutes, she spotted them- Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville. She breathed a sigh of relief as they called to her and waved, and she eagerly ran to meet them.

"Hey guys, how were all of your summers? I've missed you!" She asked, out of breath from running and dragging her heavy trunk across nearly the whole platform.

"Jasey, hi! It was so great!" Gushed Hermione as she met eyes with Ron with a slight, meaningful smile, who was standing rather chose with her. _Finally, _she thought, _I thought they'd never start going together, although it's obvious they've liked each other since second year... _The train whistle suddenly blew, so they began to clamor onto the train to find a good compartment before they were all filled.

To their unfortunate luck, on their way in, Hermione's large ginger colored cat Crookshanks ran off and halted their progress in finding somewhere to sit. By the time they had captured the hissing cat, nearly everyone else had found their way into the train.

Harry sighed in front of her as they began to walk down the narrow aisle, peeking through each compartment door as they passed, and saw each one seemed to be full of students already laughing and talking. When they reached the last compartment on the train, they all let out sighs of relief. They hadn't wanted to split up so they were relieved to find a compartment with enough space for them all, even though it wasn't completely empty.

"Oh, look everyone, It's Professor Lupin!" Cried Hermione. Jasey's head shot up immediately. A smile played on her lips. Lupin had been her favorite teacher when he's taught her in her third year.

"I didn't even know he was coming back! Oh, Thank goodness, we haven't had a proper Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in _ages,_ and with N.E.W.T.S coming up next year too.." Rambled Hermione as they opened to door. There was an awkward situation of trying to fit everyone in. Harry, Ron and Hermione took one side, and somehow, Jasey ended up swashed in between Lupin and Neville.

"Deja vu, huh?" Grunted Ron as he glanced at Lupin, who was asleep in by the window, just as he had been when they'd first met him in their third year in an almost identical situation. Jasey now turned to study him, which was difficult given her tight quarters. As she looked at him, her stomach gave a strange jump. Looking at him now, he seemed completely different than she'd remembered him. She remembered him as an older, tired-looking, pale man with unkempt hair. Looking now, she realized how young he truly was. He was still tired-looking, even in sleep, but what surprised her was how attractive he was. She'd never noticed that before.

She had completely zoned out of the others' conversation, lost in thought studying Professor Lupin. Neville cleared his throat awkwardly, and Jasey realized everyone had gone quiet and had stopped talking to turn to watch her with interested, quizzical looks on their faces. Hermione stifled a giggle, and Harry and Ron looked to her, clearly confused.

"Oh, Jasey, you haven't been listening to a word I've said! It's clear what- or should I say _who_, your favorite subject will be this year.." She laughed again and rolled her eyes.

"Wait, what?" Ron asked, brow furrowed in confuision. Hermione looked from Jasey to upin, and back to Ron with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Oh. Well, uh..ew." Ron muttered, which caused everyone to laugh, even Jasey.

"Uh, nooo! Hermione you are absolutely ridiculous!" She said through her laugh.

"Well, I wasn't the one practically swooning over a teacher just now! Neville..perhaps you should move in between them, to protect Lupin from Jasey's inappropriate intentions.."

Jasey felt the professor stir beside her. Everyone quit laughing immediately and looked to him with bated breath. _Oh god, he's probably heard all that. ugh, what a great way to start the year..._She thought as Lupin's eyelids fluttered and he awoke. he looked about him and was obviously surprised- He didn't expect to wake surrounded by a group of suspiciously quiet teenagers. His eyes darted from each one's face and was reassured by their strange behavior when he saw he knew them all. His eyes paused on the girl he's just realized was sitting incredibly close to him. She didn't meet his eyes, but was instead looking down at a tattered paperback book she held in her lap, but he could still see she was beautiful. His staring was interrupted by Fred and George Weasley bursting in. Lupin looked up, almost guiltily, and he felt a strange feeling in his stomach he hadn't felt since he was much much younger..

"Well _helllo_ there boys and girls..We're nearly there so we thought we'd drop in for a bit to see if any of you would be interesting in buying some of our new-" Suddenly George looked up at Lupin and elbowed Fred in the ribs to stop his speech. "Uhm. sell you..nothing. Anyways, we're nearly there..." _of course...trying to sell more of their boxes that make you ill..._She couldn't help but laugh at those two. They grinned identically and turned to leave.

Suddenly, Lupin rose.

"It is good to see you all, but I'm off to speak with the conductor for a moment..I'll see you all at the feast" He said with a smile that made Jasey's heart beat fast. As he walked out of the compartment and closed the door, he paused and looked back for a few moments, looking directly into Jasey's eyes with an expression she couldn't understand.


	2. And So It Begins

Chapter 2: And So It Begins

(Okay I know that no one really cars about this probably! But I remembered this story, and looked and saw it had a few followers, so I figured I'd try to write another chapter to see if anyone was interested!)

No one else acted as if they had noticed the Professor's strange parting behavior besides Jasey. Harry, for one, was staring out the window somewhat moodily. As soon as the compartment door had closed, Hermione shot her a strange, indecipherable look. Jasey looked back down to the book she now realized she was clutching at so fiercely her knuckles has turned white. Hermione's mouth opened as if to say something, when her eyes, which has been focused on Jasey, darted to the window, and her expression cleared.

"Jasey...Oh!- Look, we're nearly here!" She cried out happily. changing her subject mid-sentence.

"Oh, thank God," Muttered Ron. "I think I'd have died if I had to sit and listen to you and Jasey about to discuss Lupin- _our teacher-_ like he was some seventh year boy to fawn over...Especially since you _are _technically my girlfriend now.." He finished, blushing, as he shot Hermione a sweet smile, which she returned, although she looked a little distracted. Everyone in the compartment made kissy noises and oohed and awwed at them as they gazed into eachothers' eyes.

Jasey, however, still had other things on her mind. She was embarrassed, and felt a hot rush of blood to her cheeks. Was her little crush on her professor that obvious? As the train came to a stop, and her friends, still laughing, stood to leave the compartment, Jasey was still worrying over her next meeting with Lupin...She thought she'd die of embarrassment, for her must have noticed her staring at him, and if he's heard their conversation before he appeared to awake..._oh, this was going to be a long year,_ she thought.

When they arrived in the Great Hall, Jasey's eyes shot up against her own will, searching the head table for Professor Lupin. When she spotted him, she felt a jolt of shock and embarrassment as she saw that Lupin's eyes were already fixed on her own. He again had the same strange look in his eyes, as if he were puzzled, as they looked at each other. With the intensity of their stares, Jasey lost sight of everything else in the hall, and slowed her walking and eventually came to a full stop within a moment, noticing only Professor Lupin. In that same moment, someone in the crowd behind her, not realizing she's stopped walking, fully knocked into her, sending both of them falling to the floor.

Jasey's eyes widened, then closed as she hit the ground, letting out a small cry. She heard a male voice muttering a curse in a confused and surprised tone. She realized, in her mortification, whoever has bumped her had actually fallen _on top of her. _She opened her eyes to find herself only inches away from a handsome face it took her a moment to recognize as Draco Malfoy's. She'd remembered him as a weasle-faced, lanky albino-looking boy, but that was far from what she now observed. His face had grown mature over the summer, and was chiseled and defined with a masculine chin and chiseled cheek bones. Even his hair was different to her- in was now longer than she'd ever seen it, with shiny blonde waves falling over his eyes...She wouldn't have recognized him if it weren't for his eyes- icy blue piercing eyes that were not fixed on hers. He scrambled to un-entangle his limbs from her's, blushing scarlet. After he stood, he cautiously held out a hand to assist her in getting up. Jasey was shocked. Draco Malfoy had never shown her, or any of her friends for that matter, any kind of kindness before. Normally he greeted her and the others with sneers of resent and foul language. She looked up into his eyes, and at that moment, he finally spoke.

"S-sorry..about that." He said quietly. When he realized Jasey still wasn't moving to take his hand, his expression changed from guarded kindness to one of confusion and slight annoyance. "Well..are you going to get up, or stay down there on the floor like an idiot?" He spat.

"Oh..yeah, thanks. Sorry." Jasey mumbled, taking his warm hand and shakily standing up. Jasey looked at Draco once she was standing, and realized he still had her small hand in his grasp. He seemed to be studying her. "Well..Sorry for tripping you, and thank you, again. I probably better go sit down, now.." She trailed off, and slipped her hand from his. She immediately turned to leave, feeling her cheeks heat up yet again. She looked up to see a few of her fellow Gryffindors were looking at her with confused expressions. Jasey groaned- she'd hoped no one had seen her embarrassing endeavor. _Oh no_- she thought suddenly. _What is professor Lupin saw me fall?! _She walked quickly to her seat next to Hermione at the Gryffindor table. As she'd expected- Ron, Harry, and Neville had seen the whole thing and were hysterically laughing, and even Hermione was stifling giggles. After a few minutes of detailed analysis of what had just happened, Jasey put the encounter from her mind, and submerged herself into light conversation with her best friends.

Not soon after, the sorting took place, then after, Dumbledore's yearly speech to the students. As he talked of the year to come and informed first-years if prohibited behaviors, Jasey suddenly sensed that someone was staring at her. Her eyes darted around the hall quickly, falling again on the eyes of a certain professor. This time, though, Lupin's face seemed dark and angry- and it was directed right at her! Confused and a little hurt, she looked down at her lap to escape his eye. She waited a moment and looked up again. _Damn, _she thought, as she again found herself staring into the teacher's eyes. He Looked for only a moment, before turning away with a disgusted face, favoring a conversation with professor Snape. It was then when Jasey realized that Dumbledore's speech was over and that her friends were looking at her with confusion.

"Jasey..what is it? You look like you've seen a ghost, or something. You alright?" Neville asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm just fine, just a bit tired..Don't worry about it. So anyways, how was your summer Neville?" She quickly changed the subject, and that was all it took to start a cheery conversation that lasted for the rest of the feast.

As the feast ended and everyone stood to go, the group of Gryffindors headed to their common room to retire.

"I think I'm going to stop by the lavatory before I go to the common room, alright Hermione? I'll meet you in there- no need to wait up for me." Jasey told Hermione, who was attempting to interrupt to offer to come with her, even though she was about to fall asleep. She sleepily nodded and she and the boys walked off towards the portrait of the Fat Lady.

Jasey turned the hall to the lavatory and found herself almost running someone turning the corner. It was only then that she realized how dark the corridor was. Only one torch on the opposite end of the hall was lit, only allowing her to see the silhouette of whoever she was now next to. She heard a voice mutter quietly.

"Oh, pardon me..._lumos.._" With his words, a small light appeared between the two. Jasey looked up to see the one person she least wished to see at the moment- Professor Lupin. He frowned when he saw her.

"Oh..Jasey-Miss Mathews. What are you..?" He trailed off, his handsome face surprised and his movements awkward, especially with him being so close after nearly colliding. He composed himself. "Shouldn't you be in you common room by now? What are you doing wandering the halls, meeting Mr. Malfoy perhaps?" He spat coldly, with an unreadable expression on his face in the dim light. Jasey didn't understand what he meant, but could only stutter as she tried to think of a response. _What could he even be talking about? What about Malfoy? _Jasey thought, thoroughly confused by his words.

"I should take points from Gryffindor this moment..." He muttered, looking away. "Go to your dormitory, This. Insant!" He ordered, beginning to walk away into the dark corridor. Suddenly. he stopped, and turned to Jasey once more. "And..Miss Mathews? I'd advise you to remember our school's policies on public displays of affection. I don't want to see you with Mr. Malfoy in a compromising position like that, or even holding hands... I don't want to see you like that with anyone for that matter!" He instructed her fiercely as he began to leave, but then stopped again, quickly adding onto his statement. "I mean..I don't want to see any of my students disobeying the rules like that...yes. Consider this your warning..Please don't let me see you getting into trouble like that again." he said this almost in a whisper, and he had moved his wand's light far from his face, so she couldn't decipher his strange behavior any longer. She heard his quick footsteps an the billowing of his robes and he swept away.

Jasey walked to the her common room, feeling extremely confused.


	3. Sleepless Nights & Morning Shenanigans

**First of all..thanks to the people who followed this story and reviewed it! I truly appreciate it!**

**Side note: Yes, this is a Lupin story! I know this chapter doesn't seem that way, but he'll be more in the story soon! & He's slightly out of character her- sorry!**

**Another side note: Until now I've had this story from Jasey's point of view only, but in the next few chapters that should be changing! This is kind of a transition chapter...It's a little boring! Just wanted to add this in. :) Next chapter will be more eventful, and should be up later tonight or tomorrow. Please leave me reviews so I can know what you guys think! :)**

**ONE MORE SIDENOTE! Sorry about any grammatical errors, I didn't have time to proofread it!**

***Jasey's POV***

_If I don't fall asleep soon, I think I'll go crazy, _Jasey thought as she watched the early signs of daylight filter through the curtains next to her four-poster bed. She guessed that it was nearly time to get up anyways, so she pulled herself out of her warm bed towards the bath and shower room in the girl's dormitory for lack of anything better to do. As she locked the door behind her, she sighed with dread at the thought of seeing what she looked like after such a restless night. She reluctantly brought her eyes up to the large mirror above the sink, and stifled a groan. The first day of her sixth year- and she was going to start it looking like a gross zombie. Examining herself closer, Jasey decided that her hair was utterly impossible. Her long, chocolate-y brown tresses were arranged into what could only be described as a haystack on top of her head. She figured that there was nothing else she could do but take a shower and hope for the best.

The water ran hot against her skin and began to soothe her tense nerves. She rested her forehead against the stone shower wall. How could she have stayed up all night thinking...and about Draco Malfoy...and her professor! How could Lupin think there was something between her and Malfoy? What did he even mean by a 'compromising position'? _Seriously,_ she thought, _where did he get that idea? _The last thing she wanted was for Lupin to dislike her...in fact she'd prefer the exact opposite._ What is wrong with me?_ She thought miserably. Her professor's strange behavior and stinging words had kept her from sleeping peacefully as she tried to decipher undertones in his words that probably were meaningless. Before she could completely immerse herself into the topic again, she heard the other girls in her dormitory begin to stir in the next room, so she hastily finished washing her hair and returned to her bed to get her robes.

She dressed slowly, with her blouse, vest, skin, stockings, and tie. She quickly dried her hair with magic to avoid dripping water all through the halls.

"Jasey...I think this is the earliest I've ever seen you up...and already ready to go!" Hermione remarked, startling Jasey. Within the never-ending flow of Gryffindor girls running about trying to fix their hair and makeup, Jasey hadn't noticed Hermione appear beside her. Noticing her surprise at her entrance, Hermione laughed quietly.

"Come on...let's go to breakfast." And, leaning closer, she whispered "...all these girls trying to get all prettied up for class are drivng me _insane. _Oh, I mean, really?" She then struck a pose with her chest out and a hand on her jutted out hip. "_Oh how do I look? All the boys will be dying over my enchanted lipgloss...infused with a love potion!" _She mocked in a whiny voice, echoing Lavender Brown's earlier words. They collapsed momentarily onto Jasey bed in a fit of giggles before composing themselves and beginning their walk to the great hall.

As the Jasey and Hermione made their ways through the corridors and staircases on their way to lunch, Hermione suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, midway through cracking a joke about how Jasey could try to find her 'new boyfriend Draco' during breakfast.

"What?" Asked Jasey. Hermione held a finger to her lips to try to show Jasey to be quiet. She stood still for a moment and was listening intently. After a moment, she shook her head dismissively.

"Nevermind, I could just swear I heard something fall...and saw a swish of someone's robe...and a voice.." She muttered. "Must have been Peeves." she concluded, and they finished their walk to the great hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table.

***Draco's POV***

Draco hurried into the dining hall to greet Blaise, Crabbe, and his other associates that he disliked calling his 'friends'. He was almost late- the last person rushing to breakfast. He quickly tried to think of a good excuse for why he was showing up late, escorted by a teacher, and with his clothes covered in ink- his comrades could _never _know why he was really late. He'd gotten up early in order to go on a little...mission. It had been a long morning.

It'd only taken him maybe twenty minutes to find the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. He's planned to meet that horrible little Mathews girl before she'd gone to breakfast to clarify that he still despised her, despite their strange encounter the night before- at least, that's what he was telling himself. In all reality- Draco wasn't really sure why...but he'd been up half the night thinking about Jasey Mathews- though he's never admit it to anyone. At the feast the night before...when their eyes met...there was...something. He didn't know what to think of it. She was his enemy- one of Potter's little cronies that went everywhere with him. Of course she only liked him because he was the _famous _Harry Potter. If _he _had that kind of fame..maybe she'd walk with him to all of his classes instead of Potter...He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He was _not _jealous of sniveling little _Potter! _He wouldn't let himself be...He shook his head to clear his mind when he saw the portrait of the Fat Lady swing open suddenly.

Having nowhere to hide. he simply moved the a darker part of the corridor. and slid against the wall and remained perfectly still. He ignored the hopes in his mind that it would be Jasey...Because..he was going to give her a piece of his mind!-At least that's what he kept telling himself. He let out a sigh of relief when he did see her emerge through the portrait- but cursed under his breath when he saw she had company. _Granger._ He wondered why Jasey associated herself with the whole terrible group, especially the disgusting Granger girl. He sneered. _What a little know-it-all mudblood brat_, he thought. _Of course she had to be here!_ He turned to leave in the opposite direction when he overheard a bit of the two girls' conversation.

"Well, Jasey...I've got Ron now...You're next! Have you got your eye on anyone this year?" Draco's eyes widened. He told himself he wasn't interested in what they had to say...he didn't even care if Jasey would mention him...Which she wouldn't...and he didn't want her to! ...At least, that's what he kept telling himself. He decided it would do no harm to just...investigate the matter. It's not like he cared at all what boys that wretched little Jasey Mathews liked, but if he overheard anything good, he could use it for blackmail..

With the stealth of a snake, he trailed the two girls for almost five whole minutes until it happened. He was hanging so closely on their words, waiting subconsciously for Jasey to say something about him...good or bad. He didn't even care. When it finally happened, everything went wrong.

"...new boyfriend Draco!" The words had come from Granger, but were directed towards Jasey..._to Jasey and me? _He perked his ears up to hear more, but in his desperation to focus on Jasey's reply he completely didn't see the small pool of ink in front of him.

The pool of ink was huge- as if someone had poured ten whole bottles of ink right onto the floor. Draco, still not seeing this, stepped right into the slippery mess...and fell on his face.

His head flew up and he saw the Granger girl freeze, and shush Jasey. _Damnit!_ he cursed internally. She'd heard him! _And he didn;t get to hear what Jasey was going to say about him! _With no better ideas, he picked himself up, and ran like hell in the other direction before the girls could turn around.

After running through a few corridors, he threw himself against a wall, breathing heavily. His heart was racing, and he leans over to catch his breath better, when he heard someone else in the hall with him. Draco was leaning forward, looking at his knees, numbly realizing that he had ink all over him- but that wasn't the biggest problem he had right now. He was in Gryffindor territory- not the best place for a disliked Slytherin to be. He whipped his head up and heard footsteps coming nearer to him.

When he saw who it was, he was almost relieved...for a moment. Professor Lupin was walking quickly toward him with a concerned expression...until Lupin recognized him.

"What's happened here? are you hurt? Need some-Oh...It's you. Mr. Malfoy. I don't believe you should be out of your dungeon so early? And where's your little gang?" His concerned words had turned to clipped sarcasm when he realized it was Draco, the poster-boy of Slytherin. Draco was confused. Sure, he hadn't Professor Lupin's favorite student in third year, but Draco was confused by the obvious dislike his teacher was showing him. He'd always been kind- even when rebuking him. He was too confused to think of a quick remark. He met Lupin's eyes.

"Go to breakfast, and stay out of this part of the school. I don't want you causing any more problems! Oh, and...50 points from Slytherin. I don't know what you've been up to, but I'd bet it had something to do with Ms. Mathews? It can not continue! It's your first day of classes and already twice I've caught you trying harass her...I can see it in your eyes that I'm right, it was her you're here looking for, isn't it? Hm? This can not continue!" Draco hadn't seen Professer Lupin like this before. He seemed almost...bitter.

"Come, now. I'll be escorting you to breakfast now." He held Draco' arm in a firm and almost painful grasp, and led him into the great hall.

"My father will be hearing about this.." He mutter halfheartedly, too worn out from the the mornings strange encounters to threaten him more. He shook his arm from his teacher's grasp, beginning to formulating his excuse as he walked toward the Slytherin table


	4. It Was Going To Be A Long Day

**Hey guys! I have some big plans for this story but I'm not even sure if anyone is still reading! I would highly appreciate if you would leave a review so i can know if should continue the story or not. :)**

**On another note...finally an introductory chapter with Lupin!**

***Lupin's POV***

Lupin stalked away from the Slytherin table, heading towards the professor's long table in the front of the room, when the bell announcing first period sounded. _Oh, wonderful. Just wonderful, _he thought stormily. _I guess I didn't need breakfast anyways._ He began to walk quickly to his classroom for his first class of the day- Defense Against The Dark Arts with sixth year Slytherins and Gryffindors. Lupin couldn't understand what Dumbledore could have been thinking when he made that arrangement- the two houses hated each other! Since returning to teach at Hogwarts, it hadn't really surprised him to see that things hadn't changed in that regard. He brooded as he imagined the squabbles that were sure to occur in the class ahead of him. As he waded through the crowds of students, Minerva suddenly appeared beside him, with a wary expression on her face.

"Long day already, Remus? I though you could use this," She said as she offered him a mug of strong black coffee. He began to thank her, but she was already striding away from him in order to investigate a scuffle between two Ravenclaw boys. He arrived outside his classroom door, took a gulp of the scalding coffee for luck, and walked in the door.

Most of his students had already arrived and had migrated to opposite sides of the room to avoid mixing houses with their enemies.

"Good morning, everyone! Glad to see you all. As you might remember from your third year, my name is Professor Lupin." He prompted with a smile. 'Now, before we get started on things this year, I'd like you to look about the room and see how all of the desks are arranged," He noted as he walked to his desk, and leaned against it casually as he surveyed his students. The desks in his room, unlike those in almost every other class, were not situated separately, but rather in sets of two. As soon as the words left his mouth, every student looked over or whispered to their best friend to pair up with them in their desks.

"Ah, yes...We will be doing quite a bit of partner work this year, and you do have the choice of who your partner is. Yes, yes, I can see your excitement, but there _is _a _small_ catch. You may pair up- but I would like the groups to contain one student from Gryffindor paired up with a student from the Slytherin house." He found it hard to suppress a chuckle as he saw the happy faces of his students turn to those of terror at his final words. "You may now find a partner- you have five minutes! And remember- _get along. _I want no fighting in this class!"

No one moved for a moment, until finally, the students accepted their fate with only minimal complaints as the two houses converged into one large group. Slowly, sets of students came to find their seats with their new partners. Finally, it seemed everyone had found a partner, so Lupin began his beginning-of-the-year spiel.

"Well, welcome to my Defense Against The Dark Arts Class..First, if you could retrieve your text books and turn to page-" He was suddenly interrupted by a raised hand in the back of the class. _How can there already be questions?_ he wondered. He couldn't see who the hand belonged to, so he simply replied "Yes?"

"Sorry, but..I haven't got a partner." When everyone turned to look, Lupin could then see that is was none other than Jasey Mathews. Her soft, sweet voice sounded sad, and he blue eyes were focused down onto her desk.

"Oh..Miss Mathews. How could that be? I could swear that there was an even number of students in this hour, are we missing someone?," He looked about when no one replied. He suddenly had an idea. "Well...If you would like, you can sit up in the front here near my desk, and when we do partner work, I could assist you if you have any troubles..." he trailed off kindly, feeling strangely shy suggesting the idea. "I'm not sure what else to do about this, I'm terribly sorry." He concluded with a small frown. He met Jasey's eyes, and she looked...Surprised? Confused? And still so beautiful... Lupin suddenly wondered if he'd ruined the wonderful teacher-student bond they'd had in her third year with his childish behavior so far this year...but he couldn't seem to help how he felt and behaved around her. He was still lost in thought when he noticed Jasey stand and begin walking towards the vacant desk nearest to her own quietly. As she was moving to set down her things, the door flew open and she turned with everyone else to see who the intruder war.

Much to Lupin's distaste, in walked a disheveled Draco Malfoy, followed by a stoic Professor Snape. It was the professor who spoke first.

"Do forgive young Draco for his lateness. We got to talking in the corridor, so the fault for his lateness was my own." He drawled. _Damn it all, _thought Lupin. So there _was _an even number of students. As Snape swished out of the room, Draco looked around awkwardly to find a seat- and immediately noticed the strange array of partners in the room. Lupin saw Seamus Finnigan lean toward Jasey and heard his whisper to her.

"Oh..looks like you've got a partner now, but in this case it'd be better to have none at all! Sorry dear." he muttered sympathetically, saying what every Gryffindor- and even some of the Slytherins were thinking. Lupin's heart sunk. He knew there was no way he could get the two out of being thrown together. He glanced at Jasey and noted with some pain that she didn't look at all upset to be stuck with Draco. Lupin could feel his heart breaking. This had been his one chance to be close to her..to talk with her..laugh with her, maybe even casually touch her hand... he shook the thoughts from his head and admitted that his ideal situation couldn't play out.

"Well then...Would anyone like to offer to change partners and be with Mr. Malfoy?" Everyone froze. He had hoped someone would accept his offer..._wow. _He thought, _he's even more disliked than I thought._ "Alright...Well. I suppose Miss Mathews will have to be your partner, then. Find your seats, you two." Jasey obediently followed Draco to the desks in the back of the room. "Alright..anyways, as I was saying...Today we'll just be reading the introductory chapter to the textbook with your seat partners. Stay quiet please, and ask me if you have any questions."

It was the longest class period of Professor Lupin's life. He tried to read the paper, work on lesson plans, anything, but it was impossible. He couldn't stop look at her. Eventually, he began wandering around the room, as teachers sometimes do, to see if there was anyone he could help...Anything he could do to distract himself. Jasey Mathews...He's remembered her as a sweet, extremely charming girl whom he'd had many pleasant conversations with when he's taught her before. But the moment her first awoke on the train and found himself so incredibly close to her, he knew that she'd changed, and everything else had changed with her...he'd found himself staring at her, and wanting to lean over to touch her soft brown hair...And had run out of the train compartment as fast as he could before he did anything stupid. He knew he was wrong to think such things about a young girl..._his student, _no less, but he couldn't help it. He was reduced to a jealous. fumbling schoolboy in her presence. With shame, he remembered his rash behavior the night before when he'd nearly knocked her over in the dark hall. His hand had brushed her shoulder and he was intoxicated by the sweet smell of her perfume...He was infatuated. He was embarrassed and ashamed, with regret that only deepened when he remembered the clipped, jealous words he had spoken to her about the dreadful Malfoy boy, and the confused, hurt look on her face. He remembered again the sting he'd felt when he looked up last night to see the boy practically on top of her, and then holding her hand...The jealousy was driving him mad! His thoughts had kept him from sleep until the late hours of the morning, when he finally found sleep in a dream of a certain student of his...and had awakened to quickly jump of bed to take a cold shower.

He was obsessed. Every time he attempted to focus on his work, he again found himself staring covertly at her. He noted the way her lips moved and she quietly read aloud, and although he couldn't hear her over the crowd of voices, he could almost imagine her sweet voice. He watched as she tucked a long strand of chocolatey hair behind her ear, and his eyes followed the curl down past the middle of her back. Unfortunately, he saw things he wished he hadn't as well. He saw the lingering eye contact she held with the Malfoy brat and the way her laugh rang like a bell at whatever he was whispering to her.

Finally, the bell rang. He was equally disappointed and relieved by this. He watched as Jasey stood, gathered her thing and walked over to Hermione so they could leave together. Everyone else was nearly gone by now, and Jasey was leaning casually against Hermione's desk as she second girl gathered her things. the two were talking excitedly about something. _No, no...I can't let her leave yet. Not quite yet. _He had to talk to her. He cleared his throat.

"Miss Mathews? If you have a moment, I'd like to have a word please."


End file.
